It may never be doable but it’s worth working toward.
We’re at the point where we ought to be able to maintain a small permanent station on the Moon. Think like ISS but farther away and with some gravity. That will let us answer question like is the moons gravity sufficient to live healthily, or what are the effects of radiation on whatever level of shielding we can afford. It will let us develop all the technologies from power to food, to most especially mining. If we can successfully use local resources for shielding and building, water, air, food, and rocket fuel, then we can afford a larger base or bases
Before we can do more than set boots on mars, there’s a lot of self-sufficiency that needs to be automated and is now only a good idea. When your “emergency resupply” takes nine months, you’d better be confident of no emergencies
It may never be doable but it’s worth working toward.
We’re at the point where we ought to be able to maintain a small permanent station on the Moon. Think like ISS but farther away and with some gravity. That will let us answer question like is the moons gravity sufficient to live healthily, or what are the effects of radiation on whatever level of shielding we can afford. It will let us develop all the technologies from power to food, to most especially mining. If we can successfully use local resources for shielding and building, water, air, food, and rocket fuel, then we can afford a larger base or bases
Before we can do more than set boots on mars, there’s a lot of self-sufficiency that needs to be automated and is now only a good idea. When your “emergency resupply” takes nine months, you’d better be confident of no emergencies